The invention relates to a method and apparatus for the treatment of water. The water treatment method and apparatus may be applied to fluids such as grey or black water to be treated prior to discharge or raw water to be treated prior to consumption.
In the field of grey/black water disinfection, great efforts are continuously being made to reduce the quantity and concentration of pollutants found in grey/black water being discharged into rivers, lakes, surface and ground water supplies, etc. This is evidenced by more and stricter government regulations and requirements relating to grey/black water treatment processes and discharges. The quantities of human wastes requiring treatment are constantly and rapidly increasing. In the field of potable water purification, available surface and ground water sources are rapidly deteriorating due to pollution caused by contaminates generated by a growing population and their careless use of water and improper disposal of waste products.
Many methods exist for the treatment of grey/black water. Biological or chemical disinfection of the grey/black water to neutralize the harmful micro organisms within grey/black water are common methods employed to reduce bacteria loading found in grey/black water. Biological disinfection of grey/black water requires large tanks for micro organisms to consume the biological waste contained within the grey/black water. Chemical disinfection of grey/black water is not acceptable for water based communities and activities.
Many methods also exist for the purification of potable water which include the use of chemical disinfectants, microfiltration and ultra violet radiation. The most commonly used disinfectant is chlorine and when water containing organic material and compounds is chlorinated, a range of carcinogenic trihalomethanes is generated and considerable contact time is required for effective disinfection. When microfiltration is used to remove biological contaminants, the filtering devices require constant and regular servicing. When ultra-violet radiation is used to make water potable, the effectiveness is limited by the clarity of the water being treated. These physical and chemical factors place severe limitations on these methods of disinfection in recreation facilities.
In accordance with the invention, a method for treating water to reduce bacteria, viruses, parasites and spores prior to discharge comprises the steps of collecting a predetermined quantity of water to be treated in a treatment tank and thereafter mixing with the predetermined quantity of water to be treated, ozone. The selected quantity of water to be treated is mixed with the ozone for a selected period of time. Thereafter the mixed water is discharged to waste.
In accordance with the invention, there is a system for treating water for discharge. The water is treated to reduce bacteria, viruses, parasites and spores in the water prior to discharge of the water. The system comprises collecting a predetermined quantity of water Q to be treated in a treatment tank and thereafter mixing ozone with the quantity of water to be treated by injecting ozone through an injector as the water to be treated passes through the injector. The method further includes mixing the predetermined quantity of water with the ozone for a selected period of time and preventing any additional water to be treated from entering the treatment tank while the predetermined quantity of water is mixed with ozone. The selected treatment time is less than five minutes.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for treating waste water involves carrying out such treatment in accordance with process parameters given by the formula:   T  =      I3Q    0  
wherein T is the treatment time in hours, O is the amount of ozone generated in milligrams per hour, I is the amount of ozone injected per liter of water being treated as the water passes the ozone injector and Q is the batch size of the water to be treated, in liters. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the amount of ozone injected into the predetermined quantity of water to be treated is at least 1.25 milligrams per liter.